China meddling ‘staggering’, makes case for interference laws
Peter Dutton says Australians would be ‘staggered’ at the amount of intelligence gathered on Chinese Communist Party activities in Australia.
Australians would be “staggered” at the amount of intelligence gathered by national security agencies on Chinese Communist Party activities in Australia, Peter Dutton says, adding that policies against foreign interference are “backed by the evidence”.
The Defence Minister told Sky News host Peter Stefanovic for the broadcaster’s two-part China Rising program that Australia wanted peace in the region, but the nation’s previously cordial relationship with China had “changed quite dramatically”.
“Clearly we receive intelligence and we have formed judgments over a period of time, which have been backed up by the evidence,” Mr Dutton said in part one of the program, aired on Tuesday. “I think people would be quite staggered by the amount of intelligence, and the very clear direction that China is now taking.”
He said the 2018 move to ban Chinese telcos Huawei and ZTE from participating in Australia’s 5G network had “aggravated the communist party”, but was “absolutely the right decision to take”.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott also backed the 5G decision, saying China would not contemplate having Telstra run its domestic communications network. “I think a good rule of thumb, particularly when dealing with authoritarian governments, dictatorships, is to say if we couldn’t do it in their country, they certainly shouldn’t be able to do it in our country,” Mr Abbott said.
Former foreign minister Bob Carr was critical of Malcolm Turnbull’s handling of the 5G decision, saying it was “like he was a poodle waiting to have his tummy tickled” by then-US president Donald Trump.
He said Australia’s management of the relationship had been flawed. “We don’t use diplomacy. Australia is a bunch, in diplomatic terms … (of) bogans,” he said. “We are ripping around in a Monaro, giving a rude signal outside the window, as a writer said recently.”
Former prime minister John Howard said the biggest change in the China relationship since he was in office was “in the attitude of the Chinese leadership”.
“It has become more aggressive,” he said. “It is more difficult now than it has been for 30 years.”
The program, which continues on Wednesday night, follows Mr Dutton’s comments to The Weekend Australian that it was “inconceivable” that Australia would not become involved in a war over Taiwan if the US committed forces to such a conflict.
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